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Eric Brooks (Earth-616)
; formerly Vanguard, S.H.I.E.L.D., S.H.I.E.L.D.'s , Noah van Helsing's vampire hunters, Silvereye, Nightstalkers (Borderline Investigations), , the Nine, King, Drake and Blade, Quincy Harker's vampire hunters, Orji Jones' vampire hunters, Bloodshadows gang | Relatives = Tara Cross (mother), Lucas Cross (father); Jamal Afari (foster father) possibly Zukajaa (spawn via Cilla) | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = Mobile | Gender = Male | Height = 6'2" | Weight = 215 lbs. | Eyes = Brown | Hair = Black | UnusualFeatures = At one point during his career, Blade possessed several unique black tattoos which ran along the back of his neck and shoulders. The design of these tattoos were inspired by the cinematic version of the Blade character. Half man, half vampire, he has sharp maxillary canines fangs. | CharRef = | Citizenship = British | Citizenship2 = English | MaritalStatus = Single | Occupation = Vampire hunter | Education = Secondary School, later home schooled by Jamal Afari | Origin = Born a half-vampire with all of the vampire's strengths but none of their weaknesses, Blade became a vampire hunter to avenge his mother, who was killed by the vampire that made him what he is. | PlaceOfBirth = Soho, London, England, UK | Creators = Marv Wolfman; Gene Colan | First = Tomb of Dracula #10 | HistoryText = Erick Brooks, the man later known as Blade, was born in 1929. His father, Lucas Cross, a member of the secret society the Order of Tyrana, sent his pregnant wife Tara to England before he was taken prisoner in Latveria. There she took the name Vanessa Brooks and found shelter with brothel owner Madame Vanity, another member of the Order of Tyrana. Experiencing labor complications, Tara was forced to seek a doctor's assistance. The doctor, Deacon Frost, was actually a ravenous vampire and feasted on the woman as she gave birth, passing on a series of enzymes that altered her baby. The enzymes entered the infant's bloodstream, transforming him into a Dhampir - a being tainted by a vampire's kiss, but not converted. In other words half-man, half-vampire. Frost was driven away before he could slay the child, but Tara perished, leaving the orphaned Eric Brooks to be raised at Madame Vanity's brothel. While he was growing up, he ran into American veteran Vampire Slayer, Jamal Afari and saved him from being killed by vampires with a grudge against the old man. Afari soon learned about Eric and his origins' and decided to take him under his wing, becoming his mentor and foster-father and helped him to control his powers. Afari taught Eric everything he knew about hunting, fighting and killing vampires. Determined to avenge his mother's death, Eric fashioned himself into a vampire hunter like Afari while still a teenager and started calling himself Blade, after the sharp weapons with which he used to kill vampires with. Finally Blade and Afari split up when Jamal willingly took the fall for murder when Blade accidentally killed a man (who was suffering from a deranged illness), which he mistook for being a vampire. After stalking the night on his own for a number of years, Blade became leader of a small band of like-minded individuals hunting Dracula. He first encountered the dark lord in Japan, after many months of searching. Blade lured Dracula into an ambush, and the vampire was slain with a wooden stake. However, Dracula soon was resurrected by his servants and exacted revenge by murdering Blade's entire band of vampire hunters. Blade pressed on, often fighting alongside a team led by Quincy Harker, the great vampire hunter. The company's members included Rachel van Helsing and Frank Drake. Later, Blade teamed with vampiric private eye Hannibal King to hunt down and destroy Frost. Blade, King and Drake helped Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts and Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, cast a spell that destroyed Dracula and all the vampires on the planet. Following their victory, King was cured of his vampirism. Subsequently, he and King formed a private-investigation firm. The mother of all demons, Lilith, hired Blade's agency to kill Ghost Rider -- the leather-clad, motorcycle-riding Spirit of Vengeance -- and bad-boy Johnny Blaze, the fiery skeleton's former host. After a protracted battle, Blade and company realized they had been duped. The team joined with Ghost Rider and Blaze against Lilith, battling her monstrous minion Meatmarket. Blade, Drake and King continued their partnership with Ghost Rider and Blaze. Along with Dr. Strange, Morbius the Living Vampire and the Darkhold Redeemers, they formed the Midnight Sons, a group dedicated to preserving the boundaries between our world and the dark realms. The Midnight Sons clashed with Lilith and her demonspawn, the Lilin, in a supernatural contest with Earth as the prize. The Midnight Sons proved victorious, destroying Lilith and her brood. Blade's desire to destroy supernatural enemies led him to be tricked into using the Darkhold. As 'Switchblade' he attacked a number of supernatural beings and stole their power in the 'Midnight Massacre'. Eventually Blade was stopped and another page of the Darkhold was used to restore things back to normal. However, the team was unable to prevent its hated quarry, the vampire, from returning to the Earth realm. Blade, Drake and King, who again had become afflicted with vampirism, began their crusade anew to cleanse the world of all bloodsuckers. Blade and his partners clashed with dread lord Varnae -- supposedly the first vampire, the demon who had visited this hellish curse upon men. King and Drake were slain in a bloody and futile battle. The loss of his compatriots only strengthened Blade's resolve to rid the world of vampires, regardless of the circumstances of their creation. Dracula soon returned. Blade was alerted by Bible John, and the two fought Dracula and later Marie Laveau, who was attempting to resurrect Varnae. It appeared that King and Drake had somehow been merged into Dracula when he was resurrected, but the two have since been freed. Blade was also temporarily in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody due to the machinations of Silvereye as they sought to use him. Following the Skrull invasion of Britain, Blade joined MI:13 to aid with the resurgence of evil forces, resulting from the Skrulls defeat. Blade failed to ingratiate himself, however, when he attempted to kill fellow team member, and part-vampire, Spitfire. Both Spitfire and Blade however settled their difference and pursuied a romantic relationship. | Powers = Due to the fact that his mother was bitten by a vampire while giving birth to him, Blade was born with an immunity to the effects of vampire bites, the ability to "smell" supernatural creatures, a greatly prolonged lifespan, and sensitivity to bright light. However, after being bitten by Michael Morbius, The Living Vampire, Blade gained various superhuman physical capabilities similar to those of vampires. Yet Blade claimed to have been born a half-vampire and that Morbius' bite changed nothing, thus having his origin retconned. Superhumanly Acute Senses: Blade's sense of sight and hearing are heightend to levels comparable to those possessed by true vampires. He is capable of seeing objects with perfect clarity at much greater distances than an ordinary human. He retains this same level of clarity even in near-total darkness. Blade's hearing is similarly enhanced, allowing him to detect sounds that an ordinary human can't and to be able to hear sounds an ordinary human can, but at greater distances. Blade is also able to sense the presence of supernatural beings or forces, whereas an ordinary human would be oblivious to them. Superhuman Strength: Blade is supernaturally strong and is capable of lifting about 1 ton. Superhuman Speed: Blade is capable of running and moving at speeds greater than even the finest human athlete. Superhuman Agility: Blade's agility, balance and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. Superhuman Stamina: Blade's musculature generates less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue begins to impair him. Regenerative Healing Factor: Blade, like full vampires, possesses an accelerated healing ability that allows him to heal mild to moderate injuries with much greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. Blade is capable of healing from severe slashes and puncture wounds within a matter of hours. However, he is not able to regenerate missing limbs or organs. Immunity To Vampire Vulnerabilities: True vampires have numerous and very particular supernatural vulnerabilities, most of which Blade is totally immune to. For instance, Blade is unaffected by direct exposure to sunlight, whereas most vampires are either rendered comatose during the daylight hours or are quickly incinerated when exposed directly to sunlight. Vampires are also highly allergic to silver, supposedly because of the metal's mystical purity. As a result, silver blades or bullets are capable of killing vampires. If not killed, and merely injured, it will take a vampire much longer to heal than if the injury had been inflicted by another material. Blade himself could be injured by a silver weapon, much as an ordinary human would, but his healing powers would be able to heal it as if it were an ordinary wound. Blade is also immune to the effects of religious icons, such as crucifixes, whereas vampires are rendered almost powerless when confronted by them. Limitations: Blade does possess one weakness common to all vampires: the need to ingest fresh blood in order to stay alive. However, rather than consume blood, he ingests a specially designed serum that provides the same nourishment that blood would provide. If Blade doesn't drink the serum for an extended period of time, he will rapidly weaken and his self control will be stretched to the limit. He would be forced to attack a human and consume his or her blood. An extended period of time without consuming either blood or the serum will prove fatal. | Abilities = Blade is a master martial artist proficient in practically every form of weaponry known to man. His particular specialty is the use of edged weapons, be they teakwood daggers or swords. Blade is a master in the use of small bladed weapons and can hurl knives with great accuracy. Blade also shows great skill with firearms, including both automatic and semi-automatic, which he often modifies to fire hollow-point, garlic-filled silver bullets. He is also a skilled jazz trumpeter. | Strength = Originally, Blade appeared to possess the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build that engaged in intensive regular exercise. However, after being bitten by Morbius, Blade's strength was increased to superhuman levels. At his peak, Blade is capable of lifting 1 ton. | Weaknesses =Has the vampire's thirst for blood, which he has to inject serum into himself to control. | Equipment = None | Transportation = Motorcycle | Weapons = Blade uses a small arsenal of weapons: teakwood daggers; Adamantium, acid-etched swords; Kevlar body armor; automatic and semi-automatic firearms converted for use with hollow-point, garlic-filled silver bullets; and a variety of portable, custom-designed weapons that employ silver, garlic, sunlight, ultraviolet rays and anti-coagulants. | Notes = | Trivia = | Marvel = | Wikipedia = Blade (comics) | Links = * Marvel Directory * Blade Fan Website * 1994 Marvel Universe Cards #135 }} Category:Regeneration Category:Superhuman Senses Category:Superhuman Stamina Category:Superhuman Agility Category:Night Vision Category:Telescopic Vision Category:Hyperacusia Category:Hybrids Category:50-State Initiative members Category:Brooks Family Category:Fencing